The Disease
by Jake Skywalker
Summary: With Tobias presumed captured by the Yeerks, will the Animorphs's secret be out? CHAPTER 7 IS UP!
1. Assistant principals are always aliens

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs 

**THE DISEASE**

An Animorphs fan fiction story by Jake Skywalker, edited by Anakin McFly 

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Prologue 

Hi, I'm Tobias. Half boy, half hawk. Confused? Don't worry, that's nothing. It gets even more confusing from now on. Me and my friends - the Animorphs, that's what we call ourselves. When we're not in school or caught up with homework and other stuff, we have to spend our time fighting mind-grabbing slugs called Yeerks for the survival of the human race. The Yeerks think we're Andalites, an alien species. The thing is, we're not. We're as human as you... if you're human in the first place. I guess there's no real way of knowing who might read this. 

Anyway, there're six of us: Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Marco, Ax and me. With the exception of Ax, our Andalite friend, we're just merely humans with morphing technology. That isn't a lot, if you think about it. But it's enough to keep us going. The morphing technology allows us to... well, morph into any animal we touch, or 'acquire'. We sort of absorb their DNA into our bloodstream, and then all we have to do is concentrate on that animal to turn into it. 

There's a downside to all this however. Maximum time in morph is two hours, or you stay in morph forever and become a nothlit, as the Andalites call it. That's what happened to me at least. So ever since that time I overstayed the two hours, I spend most of my time flying around as a red-tailed hawk. I managed to reacquire my morphing ability and can become human or another animal for two hours at most whenever I want to, but how that happened is another story. Now, however, my true form is that of a hawk. 

Today was just another normal day. I was hungry and soaring above the treetops looking for a mouse to eat. If you think that's gross, too bad. I can't help it. It's my life. And besides, human food can be pretty gross sometimes too. Ever eaten a mealworm cookie? 

Anyway, I found something else which made me temporarily forget about the mouse. A huge beacon stood in the park nearby, and I swooped lower for a closer look. Yeerk design... 

I quickly flew back to Jake. He thought for a while, then told me to continue spying on the Yeerk Beacon and report to him if I saw anything weird. So I flew back and saw Chapman standing next to the beacon. He's my school's assistant principal, and also happens to be a human controller - someone whose brain a Yeerk currently inhabits and who is therefore under Yeerk control. Every kid probably has the feeling that their assistant principal is up to no good. For me, it's more that a feeling. I know it to be true. 

Unfortunately, I not only saw Chapman but he saw me as well and for some reason recognised me. He raised a Dracon beam at me and snarled. "Die Andalite scum!" 

The next thing I knew, Chapman had pulled the trigger and I felt a sudden burning sensation in my right wing. I fell to the ground and hit the grass, whereupon Chapman grabbed me and stuffed me into a bag. After that, everything went black. 

When I regained consciousness I heard a voice speaking in the room. "But Visser..." 

"Do not argue with me, scum. I want that Andalite bandit on my ship. I wish to conduct an... experiment with our new technology." There was an evil sounding chuckle. 

I opened my eyes and found myself locked up in some cage. A little way off, Chapman, Visser Three and two Hork-Bajir with Dracon beams were standing. Visser Three finally realised I was awake and walked over. 

"My little Andalite bandit has awoken, I see?" 

"Oh yes, I forgot," the Visser sneered. "You're in morph." 

He said something to the Hork-Bajir, and they carried both the cage and me aboard the Blade ship. 

I had a bad feeling about this. 

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_TO BE CONTINUED..._ Please review! I'm only 10 years old, and this is my first Animorphs fic.


	2. Captured again

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THE DISEASE: Chapter One 

The next morning after school, Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Marco and Ax were sitting in Cassie's barn and doing nothing in particular. Marco was sitting on a haystack reluctantly doing his homework. 

"Rachel, how do you spell 'reluctant'?" he asked. 

Rachel rolled her eyes and reluctantly answered. 

"Where could Tobias be?" Jake questioned suddenly, as he looked up into the Tobias-free blue sky. 

Marco snorted, not looking up from his homework. "He's probably eating a mouse or flying over now. He'll be here any minute, don't worry." 

Cassie looked at the others and said, "You don't suppose the Yeerks found him while he was watching them, do you?" 

Marco shook his head. "No way!" 

"Yes way!" 

Everyone turned towards the source of the voice to see Erek, their android friend, standing in the doorway. 

"Ah, I see. _Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure_." Ax commented. 

Jake stared at him. "What?" 

"I saw it on Earth cable television last night. It's about two youngsters who go back in time in a time travelling phone booth, though it is scientifically impossible to insert such advanced components in such limited space..." 

"Ax, I think you've been watching too much TV." Jake turned his attention back to Erek. One thing about androids was that they could throw up a holograph around themselves. Underneath, they really looked like huge canines. 

"Well?" 

"I saw them capture Tobias." 

"No! They couldn't have." 

"They did," Erek confirmed. 

It took a while for the truth to sink in, then Rachel spoke. "But if they captured him and infested him with a Yeerk..." 

Jake nodded slowly. "Yes... they would know who we are." 

---- 

Tobias looked as far around the Blade Ship as he could from his cage. It was full of weird machines that hummed and buzzed as Taxxons worked at their controls to get the huge ship into the air. Several Hork-Bajir walked around calling up display screens and shouting commands to the Taxxons, threatening to shoot those who disobeyed. 

Visser Three moved towards Tobias in his stolen Andalite body, his tail arched over his back like a scorpion. 

Tobias asked. 

The Visser laughed. 

The Visser walked out of the room, and a while later was back with a strange looking contraption in his hand. 

If Visser Three had a mouth, he would have smirked. 

Panicky thoughts started surging through Tobias' mind as the Visser stuck the toginry through the cage bars. What could be in that syringe? 

He winced as the syringe's liquid entered his bloodstream. The last thing Tobias saw was Visser Three's sneering face... and then darkness closed in again. 

---- 

TO BE CONTINUED 


	3. Waking up to a broken wing

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs.

The Disease Chapter 5

Written by Jake Skywalker

Typed and edited by Anakin McFly (Read my fics if you value your life. And review. swings lightsabre dangerously)

Tobias winced as the syringe's liquid entered his bloodstream. The last thing he saw was Visser Three's sneering face… and then darkness closed in.

"Why can't we take a Yeerk from a Taxxon or Hork-bajir then kill the host?"

"We cannot afford to waste Yeerks. The Andalites are coming and we need as many troops as we can afford. The last attack on the Kadrona Pool was only too successful, I fear. We know that there are a group of Cy-Yeerks which are immune to the filthy gas the Andalite troops introduced into the air."

In his semi-conscious state, Tobias heard Visser Three sneer at the word 'Andalite'. There was a hatred in the Visser's voice that spanned over dozens of Yeerk-controlled solar systems.

"So, the liquid we injected into the Andalite will create an activating code which the Cy-Yeerks alone will be able to decode. They will then be able to capture the Andalite bandit."

Tobias blinked, trying to comprehend the situation, but his brain just didn't seem to be working too well.

Seconds later, he blacked out again.

Tobias opened his eyes wearily. The sounds of traffic assured him that he wasn't dead. The hawk tried to turn around but a sudden pain cutting through his forehead stopped him. Gingerly, Tobias tried to stretch his wings. They were still working, a slight comfort to him. Ignoring the pain, Tobias lifted off into the air, and headed off to Cassie's barn.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Please review.


	4. Realisation and dandruff

Disclaimer: I do not own Animorphs...bla bla bla bla bla...start the chappie already!

Tobias spotted Cassie before she could spot him. He glided into the rafters of her barn silently, his wing had slowed him down but he was determined not to let it be visible. He didn't want the others to think he was weak. He was a bit disturbed by the look the Visser had when he had left Tobias.

Cassie? The girl who had been feeding an injured skunk whirled round.

"Who said that?" She asked, looking round the barn between the cages of the animals.

Me, up here Cassie looked up. She squinted.

"What's a red-tailed hawk doing up there?" Tobias stared at her. She must have gone bonkers.

Cassie it's me, Tobias. Cassie stared at me with the oddest expression on her face. Then she ran out of the barn. Tobias stared after her. 'What happened to her?' Moments later, a chestnut colored horse ran towards the residence of the leader of the Animorphs.

Jake.

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"What are we gonna do?" Cassie was outside Jakes house. The sun was already setting and a group of geese in a V-shaped formation sailed across the sky. Jake was pacing the ground.

"I have no idea. We don't know for sure he ahs a Yeerk in his head." Cassie cut him off.

"We don't know? Jake, he has been missing for a few hours and was seen by Erek being captured by the Yeerks. Of course he's a Controller." Jake ran his fingers through his hair. "Don't put your dandruff all over me." Cassie said.

"I do not have dandruff." Jake replied.

"Do too."

"Do not."

"I thought we were discussing Tobias?" Cassie asked, a smirk on her face.

"Whatever. Just...stay away from him. And try not too morph. I have an idea. We could pretend that he's just a lunatic, and that all he remembers was just a mad dream. Tell Rachel. I'll tell Ax and Marco. If possible, we'll meet again at Ax's meadow tomorrow. I might have a plan."

"Okay dandruff boy."

"I do not have dandruff!"

A/N: Sorry for the short chapters. Don't worry, Jake has a plan. No offence to all Jake fans and anyone with dandruff.


	5. I didn't bump into the lampost, the lamp...

Disclaimer: I do not own Animorphs, K.A Applegate, Scholastic or a small island in the southern region of the planet Glub in the solar system Flub.

Tobias didn't understand. Every time he saw Rachel or Marco or anyone in the Animorphs, they turned in the other direction. Marco had even turned so abruptly he banged his head on a lamppost. Swearing under his breath, Marco had turned round again tripped over a rock. The scream could be heard miles away. To Tobias's excellent hearing it sounded like the time in 3rd grade when the principal, during one of his long, boring speeches accidentally banged the microphone while gesticulating strongly why the change in syllabus would affect the Earth's electro-magnetic field and would result in the end of the world. The screech from the microphone that had followed was similar to the one Marco was making. Cassie appeared around the corner and glanced up at Tobias.

"Marco, don't tell me you've been infected by a Yeerk too." Marco shook his head furiously and hopped around on one foot, the other was being squeezed by his hand. Tobias was dumbstruck; did the others think the Yeerks had infected him? He didn't think he had, been, but he distinctly remembered he had been put onto the Yeerk ship. Why wouldn't they have infected him? Tobias gingerly flapped a wing. He seemed to be in control of his body. He sighed a bird sigh and flew off. Preoccupied in his thoughts, he bumped into the lamppost and fell to the ground unconscious.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that. I'm going to explain most of the questions Tobias asked. As for all my reviewers, I might add in some stuff that might make it clearer. There was actually a chapter that was supposed to appear much earlier but somehow or other didn't. That'll be the next chapter. Bye and please review!


	6. First Incident

Disclaimer: I do not own Animorphs, K.A Applegate, a small planet called Zlub in the Klatuu Nebula that resides in the parallel dimension where marshmallows rule the world! MUAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHA. Chokes and attempts to suppress an evil marshmallow laugh I know I am a terrible git for no updating I am soooooo sorry.

Anyway, on with the chappie.

When Tobias returned to consciousness, his head hurt a lot. Your head would hurt a lot too if you had just crashed into a lamppost too. There was one good thing about being stuck in a morph; he could completely the two-hour rule. Of course, this was because he had once already. The sun was setting and the skyscrapers were beautifully illuminated against the sun. This view was spoilt when a large truck rumbled past Tobias, the red-tailed hawk. Tentatively flapping his wings, he lifted up into the air. There were lots of things on his mind. He headed for home. The meadow.

It was then it happened. As he soared over the metropolis towards the meadows, he felt his feathers begin to shrink. His beak was beginning to soften up too. Without the help of his wings, he began to lose height rapidly. That pavement looked awfully near. As his legs began to grow, he realised what was happening. He was demorphing. Normally, this would make him quite happy, considering he had thought he was a nothlit. However, in these circumstances, he could not say that. He was plummeting from a height of twenty thousand feet and he was demorphing. With the aid of his new mouth, he could now scream. Which was what he did.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" A building rushed past him. The hospital. Focus, Tobias thought. If I can demorph, I can definitely morph. I think. As he passed a window, he began to morph back again however. His feathers flashed out and he shrunk. His scream was cut off as his mouth was replaced with a hard cruel beak. Flapping furiously, he saw the administrative level. He was almost at the bottom. Finally, the change was complete, his wings flapped as he rose over a thermal. He heaved a bird sigh of relief as he cruised down to his favourite tree in the meadow. Something odd was going on and he knew nothing of it.

He felt helpless.

He didn't like the feeling.



Jake and the rest of the Animorphs excluding Tobias were sitting in Cassie's barn. They had decided that they could not out run Tobias even in eagle morph. They had sat through Erek talking about a new groups of Yeerks called the Cy-Yeerks and sat through history class. Not that any of their classmates were listening to their teacher Mrs Corver droning on about Napoleon. They were too pre-occupied thinking what to do with Tobias. They knew that they were in great danger, due to the fact that Tobias knew who they were. Jake was still pondering why they were not already dead as he stepped into the barn. Marco, who was acting unusually serious, was sitting on a hay bale. Cassie was feeding a injured fox through the bars of its cage. The animal was snapping at her hand. She of course ignored it and stuffed some food through.

"Okay, what do we do about Tobias?" Jake asked, voicing what everyone was asking in his or her thoughts. They had talked about what they would do should their identities be revealed. But they had never really done anything. In the sense that they did not know what to do. Even Jake, their leader was struck dumb. They secretly knew that worse come to worse they would all be turned into Controllers. None of them wanted that of course, the feeling of an alien slug controlling what you did, sifting through your movies like a certain DVD collection I was once in possession of. Just as Marco was about to speak up, there was a loud thump on the barn doors, which due to the chilly night, Cassie had shut. They all glanced at each other before turning back to it.

"What do you think it is?" Cassie whispered to Jake. Ax had lifted his tail, it was poised and ready to strike.

"I have no idea."

Sorry for the cliffhanger. I promise I will try to get the next chappie up ASAP.

To my adoring and rather pestered due to my short chappie reviewers

Wolf Of The Midnight Sun: Thank you for the encouragement. As for the unbelievable parts, worry not; I have a complete explanation lying around somewhere. The reason the chapters are short is mainly due to the fact that I am not as free as my older sibling whose user name is Anakin McFly. I write my own original stories so hardly have time for fanfiction. I have decided to change this though, so hopefully longer and more chapters coming up. Hopefully. Marco hit the lamppost because for two reasons. One, he is blur and was trying not to pay attention to Tobias which ended up in him paying attention to him. Two, he is blur. Very blur. And Chapman and the Yeerks have seen Tobias enough times to realise there's something fishy going on. Or birdie. Hmmm, that doesn't look too good.

EverKitsune: Thanks for it all. You are like the many reviewers ho review in saying write longer chappies. Thanks for all your encouragement.

Whirlpool of Reality: Okay, as for why Jake and Marco did not capture it, that's because Tobias will like totally outrun them, making it virtually impossible to catch him. Besides, how do you tie a hawk to a chair? I have taken your advice however. Thanks.


	7. Human Again

Disclaimer: I do not own Animorphs, K.A Appleg…TRANSMISSION DISRUPTED DUE TO SHEER POINTLESSNESS OF THIS OTHER THAN AS A DISCALIMER, WAIT A MOMENT…OOPS.

Anyway, on with the chapter.

Ax slowly inched towards the vibrating door. Rachel was about to morph grizzly when Jake stopped her.

"Let's see who it is first, you wouldn't want Cassie's mum to see you like that." Marco, attempting to break the tension, tried a joke.

"Not that there's much difference…" Rachel glared at him. He grinned, then turned serious as he looked at the door. Ax was almost at it and opened the tiny peephole Cassie had just installed a few weeks ago. He peered through it just as the door was blasted out, sending the Andalite tumbling. Jake ducked as the deadly tail sliced the air where his head had been moments before. In the smoke, he could see several indistinct forms walking towards him. Then, the smoke cleared and his jaw dropped. That was definitely not Cassies's mum.

Tobias was quietly perching on a nice strong branch. His talons were wrapped round him. Not too long ago, those talons had been feet. Human feet. HE wondered why he was demorphing to human. Could it have something to do with the whole odd technology of morphing? Or was it something to do with what the Visser had injected him with? Why were the other Animorphs trying to hide from him? So many questions. He had to rest on the tree branch to figure them all out. Then, it happened again. He began to demorph to human. He first realised it when he noticed he was kind of slipping off the branch. When he shifted his talons, he noticed the wood was biting into his soft flesh. Soft flesh! He looked hurriedly down. His talons were changing into feet, his feathers that had been stabilizing his body, were melting into hands. He was trying to focus when he fell of the branch, breaking his concentration. HE tried to focus but it did not seem to be working at all. Finally the demorph was complete, he was standing in a meadow naked. Not exactly the best of circumstances. The sun had now set and a cool breeze had picked up, making Tobias shiver. Normally, he would have morphed and flown to Jake's house to get some clothes. But his morphing power was apparently gone, leaving him in not too good a position and his friends were hiding from him.

Like many other times, Tobias felt alone.


	8. Meeting the CyYeerks

Disclaimer: Sorry for taking ages but I had a whole load of homework. I do not own Animorphs, K.A Applegate, a 15" HDTV or a certain rubber ducky donated by the interstellar Chamber of Commerce.

You guys wanted longer chapters, here they are.

P.S I'm no longer 10, I'm now 11, going on 12. My original story just hit 30 000 words!

Chapter 8

Tobias had been sitting on his branch a long time. Trying to think things over, ignoring the gnawing sensation in his stomach, which was not all to do with his hunger. He caught himself a rabbit. Ripped the still warm flesh with his sharp beak. Felt the blood beneath his beak.

Night had already fallen and he was getting confused. He caught a thermal and glided up past the nearby petrol station. He tried to sift his thoughts out. Flying through the cooling air of the night, he could think clearer. He could spot Cassies's barn in the distance. The lights were on. The others were probably having a meeting. He wished he could just swoop down there and join them, like he usually did. He narrowed his laser sharp eyes at the barn. The door seemed to be moving but there was nothing there. A distortion in the air shimmered in front.

Oh look, it's the cloaked Blade ship. Ha ha. Irony did not seem to be helping him calm down so he moved off. The lights were on in the kitchen. Tobias could see Jake's mother preparing a steak. She was laughing and talking to Jake's dad. Preparing a meal that would not twitch in it's final death throes and drip warm blood as they ripped apart its tender flesh and… Tobias turned away and gazed longingly at the barn before turning back.

Tom was there, with a slightly more malicious look in his eyes than normal. Jake's parent's did not seem to notice though. He was fingering something in his jeans pocket. Something that looked like a Dracon beam. Tobias glided past a petrol station, savouring the cool air. It was a frigid night. He tried to sift his thoughts out.

The other Animorphs were not coming near him in case he dragged them up to Visser Three yelling 'Look, look sir! I found the Andalite bandits! Only their not Andalites, only you already knew that sir!' Then the Visser would give him a pat on the head and a bone or a freshly caught rabbit and send him off again.

Irony really did not seem to be working tonight. So, the Animorphs were avoiding him. Which meant he had to prove to them he was not a Controller. That was one problem more or less solved. Just prove to them that there's no Yeerk stuck in his head.

There was another more urgent question bugging him. Why didn't the Visser infest him with a Yeerk? It didn't make sense. They could have just popped a Yeerk into him from a Taxxon and everything would be hunky-dory. For them at least. Why would Visser Three throw away the one thing that would virtually guarantee his immediate promotion? Why?

"Tsewwww!" He was shaken out of his thinking daze by a beam of sizzling red. The bolt flew past him and fried the circuits of the petrol stations floodlights.

They went off, plunging the bottom of the station into darkness while the streetlights kept the road nearby illuminated.

"Tsewwww!" Tobias moved into action just as another bolt hit much nearer to him, passing him by as it flew into the night. Tobias launched himself off and soared past the station where people were screaming. He glanced behind and saw two humans holding something that looked like a Dracon beam. Cleverly hidden under a coat. The street was deserted and apart from the people working inside the stations mini-mart, no one else could see them. The men turned as one and fired again.

"Tsewwww!" A gigantic bolt of crimson flashed past Tobias, incinerating a pine tree unlucky enough to be growing near by. The Dracon portable assault cannons fired off another blast that sent a streetlight crashing onto a Volkswagen parked nearby. The car alarms joined the screams of people as Tobias soared off towards his meadow at top speed. The attackers weren't crackshots but several blasts were just a bit too close for comfort. The men seemed to know that the target was too far to hit and the cold barrels of the Dracon cannons disappeared into the folds of the leather jackets they had come from.

The men walked off calmly, as the fuel tank in the Volkswagen ruptured and the car burst into flame. Fire trucks could be heard already and the police would be just behind them.

Tobias didn't stop until he was back at his tree. The he thought about the incident that had nearly killed him. Then he thought some more.

He had been doing a lot of that lately.


End file.
